Superblue

Pope has made some good saves in this second half. Saves that I wouldn't be confident Kepa would make.

Yep. Playing Enzo as the 'defensive' option in midfield isn't ideal for either Chelsea or him. I do like Santos. He's got an engine on him, puts his foot in and keeps things simple but he is still raw in patches. I think it'll be the right decision to keep him here this season as I think he'll get a reasonable amount of game time through the season. We haven't really seen the two play together yet as a pair and if this Caicedo deal drags on, I think Poch needs to give them some gametime together this pre season as based on the current players we have, I think that's the best midfield pairing currently. We do really need to try and push to get this Caicedo deal wrapped up though. He would make a huge difference next to Enzo for our midfield next season if we can secure him.

Don't think it was Enzo's best game, but since he's come off you can see the stark difference in control and composure in our midfield.

I played left back through most of youth football, and Cucurella, from a defensive viewpoint, makes me tear my hair out. His positional discipline and lack of awareness is depressing to watch. Newcastle have targeted that side all game because he gets sucked in far too centrally instead of passing runners off to Humphreys. If he's not doing that he's caught ball watching. If he's not doing that then he chases obvious lost causes to leave him out of position. That goal was coming since the first few minutes and if Poch considers him to be the first alternative to Chilwell next season then I think we're in massive trouble if he ends up with regular gametime.

I'm not championing Guehi, but we do reportedly have a 20% sell on fee, so if Palace want £50m for him, it will essentially be a £40m deal once that is factored in.

The 4th goal was nice to see, simply because it's a very basic, yet highly effective attacking move through the middle of the pitch, finding the attacker on the last man of the defence. It's a type of goal you see every week, apart from at Chelsea in recent seasons. Whether it's because the attacker/striker isn't making those necessary runs off the ball to attack the space, or the player with the ball isn't spotting the run and/or executing the pass correctly. The 5th goal similar in some aspects but higher level vision and execution involved on that one.

At Wigan, Reece went from the best right back in the Championship to the best centre midfielder in the Championship, when they moved him during the season. He can definitely play the position and I would anticipate to a high standard too. The key will be whether moving him away from right back is to the detriment of the team, and a large part of that will be what sort of impact Malo Gusto can have.

The thing with Liverpool/Colwill is it's pretty clear that Colwill simply knows next season he needs to play regularly. I think he knows he's been earmarked for a spot in the England squad, and possibly team for the Euros but he has to be playing to make that a reality. Liverpool hardly ever rotate, and the player in his spot at LCB is one of their main players who will play all the big games and very rarely be rested. Liverpool could sell a move to him as VVD's replacement but that isn't happening yet, which is what Colwill knows he needs. He might get the Europa League games to rest VVD, but is that enough? He's not going to be first choice there. I'm fully confident that Poch will make him feel valued and trusted for next season and I believe he'll be starting for England next summer as a Chelsea representative.

West Ham enquired for him to replace Rice and Fulham quoted something ridiculous like £80-90m.

The problem with the striker market is that it just looks so poor currently. I don't think there is anywhere near the same volume of top tier strikers as there was in the last generation 5-10 years ago. If there was someone who felt a 'surefire' thing, like Harry Kane for example, I'd say go for it. But with regards to realistic transfers, that just doesn't appear to be there. Kolo Muani looks a good player but I wouldn't be betting on him to take up the mantle of the club's main source of goals. Vlahovic has been poor since his move to Juventus, yet they're expecting to at least get their money back for him. The fees being quoted for these two and others is just obscene, and hugely high risk if they don't pay off. In my opinion, Nkunku is a more proven player and goal scorer than either of the above or anyone else realistic on the market. We need to set up in the right way to maximise his talents (in my opinion having him play alongside or just behind a striker), but he should be the marquee attacker this summer. If the club has a plan with regards to a striker signing and are confident in it then fine, but it'll be a hugely backwards step spending huge money on a striker this summer if the right one isn't available.

He did suggest in an interview a few weeks back that people at Chelsea didn't show faith in him last summer. In this instance though, I can only think that is more directed at Tuchel who had the chance to integrate him in as one of the replacements for Rudiger and Christensen and chose not to. The hope is that the board did place some faith in him last summer, by choosing not to sell him to Brighton and instead pay extra for Cucurella so as to only loan him out. As some have said, it's hardly like he was undisputed first choice for Brighton last season, but he did seem to be very much heading in that direction by the end of the season, so he probably knows if he was to go back there he'll get a lot of gametime next season. I actually think the biggest thing on his mind currently is the opportunity present to break into that England squad, and even the starting XI for the Euros and to do that, he needs to play regularly. I think if a plan and a path can be shown to him by Poch, I don't see there being any issues. He has the potential to be one of the best centre backs in the Premier League in a couple of seasons time (although Badiashile is also ironically in that category too) and it's important that stability comes quickly to this group under Poch.

Snoop Doggy Dogg on the right wing!

Or there's a fairly average player there who was bought off the back of their standout season that they may struggle to replicate again. We've just seen ourselves Mendy head down a similar trajectory.

Pretty sure he only has a year left on his deal so he'd need to sign a new contract first before a potential loan move.

That makes sense. Not sure who he had in the early parts of his career but Zidane doesn't strike me as the most tactical of managers and besides Tuchel, Kova had here Sarri, Lampard (twice) and Potter.

Ultimately actions speak louder than words, but there is a distinct and clear difference here with Poch who gives off that confidence and aura that he believes he belongs in a big job like this. If this translates on to the training pitch, which I believe it will do, he'll have that group of players trusting and believing in him very quickly. Everyone knows we're in a state of transition throughout the club from top to bottom, but it shouldn't be an excuse to not be competitive and still challenging for top 4 and trophies. The vibes given out last season firstly by Potter and then Lampard were seemingly an acceptance of mediocrity. People can view it as a soundbite, but I feel much more comfortable and confident when a manager is talking about a need to win, than simply a hope to win. I wasn't initially sold on Poch, mainly because of his Spurs history, which I felt would immediately put him on the back foot, much in a similar way to Benitez. However, over the last few weeks, I've come down on the feeling that he's the right man at the right time for this job and yesterday's interview showed to me someone who looks confident, motivated and fresh.

Given the players that have departed, I would be surprised now if Gallagher left as we already look light in midfield and whilst still young, he at least as some reasonable experience now. I'm not his biggest fan personally as I have my doubts over his technical ability but I could also see Poch appreciating his work rate and intensity in a high octane, pressing team. I think the club would have preferred to keep Kante, albeit on their terms, and that does then make me wonder if we'll identify a more experienced player to be added as a replacement. I see there has been tentative talk of Kessie and I could possibly see someone of that ilk being added for the right price. Ultimately though, assuming we can strike a deal for Caicedo, this is going to be an extremely young group of midfielders, and will be a complete turn from it being probably our most experienced area of the pitch in recent times. I can possibly see Santos staying if he impresses in pre season, and I can also see the possibility of Lewis Hall being ear marked as a squad player for that midfield too. For now, Caicedo seems to be the number one choice for the club, and does seem to be an ideal fit to partner Enzo. It's imperative we get this deal done and can then review things during pre season. A long, drawn out saga must be avoided, we want as much of the squad together for as long as possible during pre season.

Exactly. What Chelsea have done in the Havertz and Mount deals is proven to not be pushed around and bullied into selling cheap. We'll see in time whether they prove to be correct sales or not, but ultimately given the circumstances surrounding contract positions and seemingly both wanting to leave, I feel we've done well to get the deals we've received and put a marker down for the future with regards to selling players on terms deemed acceptable by ourselves. As mentioned previously the next acid test is Caicedo. I think if we can get him for somewhere in the £70-80m bracket, rather than £100m as being talked about in some reports, and we'll have done pretty well and hopefully learnt lessons from last summer when clubs grossly bid us up for their players.

Post 30th June may be key for us on incomings with regards to FFP.

Losing the amount of experience we are, and all at the same time, is definitely a concern. The likes of Azpi and Koulibaly need to be added to that list too and even a player like RLC is seen as a senior pro now within that group of players. But on the flip side to this, this is a group of players that have been mostly together now for a while and failed to kick on, in many instances regressed. We haven't come close to challenging for the title for over half a decade and missed out on the top 4 a couple of times since we last won the league. The other times, we've only cemented our top 4 place late in the season. We've won a few cups, but the mentality and consistency within the group has been lacking for years to mount and sustain a title challenge over the course of a season, so perhaps we do need as big of a reboot as we're getting. I have a feeling that Poch will be more excited about the potential squad he's inheriting, compared to if he had an older, more experienced core group of players. I think he'll feel he can mould and shape a lot of these players to suit him. He'll want a squad that's fit and capable of pressing from the front and playing intense, aggressive football and that is personally something I would love to see after the stale nature of our performances over the last 18 months. If he can get us off to a fast start, I think a young group can ride momentum hard and start to get a sense of fearlessness. Probably similar to Arsenal this season gone, I think if we found ourselves in a position to be challenging for anything, we'll struggle then with the lack of experience but I definitely think the top 4 (or possibly top 5) is achievable this coming season.

I don't get the math, why would we owe him those wages if he leaves. If anything, by getting him off the books this summer will save us his £6m+ wages for this season, so in theory the net gain for moving him on this summer is actually closer to £20m. I agree on the face the transfer fee isn't great, but his wages make it much more difficult to move him on and as far as we would all be aware, he could well be reluctant to move to a lower half/mid table Prem side if a club like Milan are interested in him.

I know there seems to be a lot of posturing on the Mount deal from different camps, etc but for some reason, I have a gut feeling that if a move to United did break down and he stayed here, that any issues would be resolved between him and the club and a new contract would be signed during next season. I think the two big things within this are (1) it's been widely reported Poch would prefer to keep him, so if he did stay he's going to be utilised, and (2) from Mount's perspective he'll want a strong season before the Euros as it's no longer just a starting place for him now, if he has a similar season to the one just gone, he'll be doing well to make the Euros squad at all. He's not in a position to just be able to coast. There's been similar situations of players seemingly on the brink of leaving before only for the situation to be turned around. I can remember Gerrard back in 2005 being essentially a done deal and being discussed in the media, etc as such and then suddenly a couple of days later the goalposts have shifted. That's why I think the club are more prepared to push a hard line with this deal, because I think there's a confidence there that something could be recovered if we went into next season with him in the squad.

Disappointing that it hasn't worked out as he genuinely seems like one of the real nice guys in football (I also noticed he received an award recently too for his community work whilst at Chelsea). Ultimately this was a deal 5 years too late. If we managed to bring him in under Conte or Sarri when we were first being linked with him, his Chelsea career may have seen a different trajectory.